


your words are better than poetry, my love

by faith_missingawae



Series: dorks in love [2]
Category: Anne with an E (TV)
Genre: Banter, Dorks in Love, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Idiots in Love, Post-Canon, Ridiculously in Love, Shirbert shenanigans, Teasing, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, barely any plot just fluff, set sometime after S3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:55:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28189566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/faith_missingawae/pseuds/faith_missingawae
Summary: Anne and Gilbert have a compliment battle of sorts, Bash being their designated judge.Although he's itching to cross over to Anne's side and tease Gilbert for all he's worth.or5k words of anne/gilbert being nauseatingly in love and everyone else teasing them for it.
Relationships: Gilbert Blythe & Anne Shirley, Gilbert Blythe/Anne Shirley
Series: dorks in love [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2040854
Comments: 6
Kudos: 85





	your words are better than poetry, my love

**Author's Note:**

  * For [huffleavonlea](https://archiveofourown.org/users/huffleavonlea/gifts).



> first off, thank you so much to irina (bruadarxch), niamh (ascopetoimagine), ales (tragicalanne), bia, nicole and evan for looking through this and helping me out with it
> 
> (i've included their ao3 usernames so that you can go and check out their amazing works)
> 
> it's just pure unadulterated fluff with the bare bones of a plot so enjoy <3

Anne sighed, trying to keep the sound as low as possible.

 _How_ could it be that she was bored with her studies already?

Wait, scratch that. She'd never be bored of her education but she was tired of the monotonous method she had to employ to learn all this information for her examinations.

She rolled her neck, trying to be quiet about it as she glanced around at her surroundings.

She was seated at the table in the Blythe-Lacroix homestead, the sunlight streaming in through the window casting her and her engrossed companion in light.

Right. Her companion. Gilbert. The love of her life.

Anne propped her hand on her chin as she smiled softly at him, his attention taken by the thick textbook in front of him. He was dressed in his casual clothes, his hair mussed as he kept running his hand through it whenever something got particularly vexing.

Not completely engrossed, Anne noted with a smile as his hand brushed over hers softly and he looked at her for a moment, a loving smile breaking out at the sight of her.

He gave her fingers a small squeeze and continued studying.

Sometimes Anne had a hard time believing that he was real, that _this_ was real. It was easier to believe when he was there in person, but during the long months apart, she had definitely been prone to pinching herself more. She was still terrified that this would all turn out to be a dream.

Anne then had the stirrings of an idea, one that had the potential to maybe disrupt their study session.

She didn't think Gilbert wouldn't hold it against her, not in the long run but she didn't want to be the reason he fell behind in his studies. Due to him being a late admission, he had a lot to catch up on. There was also the fact that medical school wasn't like their Avonlea schoolhouse.  
From the descriptions Gilbert had provided her with, it sounded like he was always preparing for something akin to the Queen's entrance exams, just with a lot more to study and in a more competitive environment.

No, she would let him study. Even if she needed a break.

However, as though he sensed her boredom, (or maybe she had fidgeted too much and he had noticed) Gilbert let out a deep sigh sounding as tired as she felt, looking up at the ceiling as he shut his eyes for a few moments.

"What?" he asked, smiling softly, as he opened his eyes and noticed her gaze on him.

Anne shrugged, offering him a bright smile in return.

"I was just admiring how dedicated you are to your work, and how earnest," she told him, the adoration evident in her tone.

While Gilbert had had some time to get used to Anne's forthcoming nature ever since they had kissed each other at the steps of her boarding house and then spent months exchanging letters, there was decidedly a difference between hearing her say it in his head, and actually hearing it.

So Gilbert was not completely in control of his reaction as he looked down at his book, a small smile playing on his lips.

Anne, on the other hand, was positively delighted with his reaction, and she knew that no matter how many times she made him smile as bashful as he did right then, she'd never tire of it.

Expanding on her previous idea, she nudged his fingers slightly.

"Yes, Anne?" Gilbert asked after he had cleared his throat, his bashful expression almost gone as he had gotten control over his emotions.

"Have I ever told you how deeply I am in love with you, Gilbert Blythe?" Anne smiled sweetly as she told him.

Gilbert looked wary as soon as he caught sight of Anne's seemingly too innocent smile, but as the words hit him, he looked down at his books again.

"You might have a few times," he mumbled as he used his free hand to slightly pull the hair at the nape of his neck.

"I can't believe Gilbert John Blythe is actually blushing!" Anne teased him, her heart soaring at the sight.

"I'm not blushing," he protested, narrowing his eyes at her.

"Fine, let's say your skin is too tan to show color, but you're a far cry from your normally composed self."

"Oh, really Anne-girl? You want to talk about composure?" Gilbert teased her in return, a glint in his eye.

That was the first time he had called her that, and Anne didn't know what exactly she felt hearing it.

She knew what he was talking about, but decided to ignore it. "What about it?" she asked, seemingly nonchalant.

"Out of the two of us, who is the one who has a trove of words but yet was almost always speechless in my presence?”

Anne rolled her eyes. "It's not my fault someone has the most expressive eyes I've ever seen, although his ability in verbal communication is a bit lacking."

Gilbert tried to fight a smile at that. "Well, in that person's defense, it's not his fault that the other person either sent out mixed signals, or whacked slates over heads."

Anne sighed. "You'll never let me live it down, will you?"

Gilbert shrugged. "I'm just trying to avoid a second instance."

Anne snorted. "By reminding me to the point that you will _literally_ bring it again upon yourself?"

Gilbert opened his mouth to retort, then shut it again.

"You wouldn't subject me to that again, would you Anne?" he asked her, an innocent smile on his face.

Anne narrowed her eyes. "Do _not_ test me, Gilbert Blythe," she replied, but she was only half-serious.

Gilbert made a face. "That's a shame. I just came across an idea that had seemed like it would be fun."

Anne was wary of whatever was in Gilbert's head but she also couldn't deny that she was curious.

"What is it?" she nudged him again as he seemingly looked at his books with more concentration than he had before.

Who was he trying to fool though? Anne could still very much see Gilbert's grin.

"Gil," she called him again and he looked at her, smiling softly at the nickname.

"Since I've so dearly missed our competition and we seem to disagree on who is more likely to render the other person speechless, what do you think about a test to find out who is right?" Gilbert drawled, a teasing grin on his face.

Anne looked at him shocked for a few seconds, and Gilbert started to doubt what he had said.

He had spent years denying his feelings for Anne, and now that he didn't need to anymore, sometimes he worried he'd be too much. Yes, too much for **Anne** Shirley-Cuthbert, one of the most hopeless romantics he had ever known. He knew how incredulous that notion was, but nonetheless, it still persisted, although it did tend to fade whenever he read something from Anne, or heard her saying it.

"Only you," she whispered, making him start out of his thoughts.

"Only you, Gilbert Blythe would turn my idea against me," Anne smiled at him and Gilbert felt his own face break out in a smile.

"How do we make it fair though? It's not like either of us to concede quickly", he smirked as Anne looked at him suspiciously.

At that moment, as Anne formulated her indignant response, that was however more lackluster than what she would've said before, a small coughing fit made both their gazes focus on something that wasn't each other.

Oh right, there was one more person in the room.

Bash had broken out into a coughing fit as he had been unable to hide his amusement at the oblivious couple, them being the sufficient entertainment he needed as he tried to finish some knitting for Dellie, who was sleeping soundly.

He noted that Anne and Gilbert had completely forgotten about his presence and his smile widened as he filed away all things he could say about this, all of which Gilbert would have to endure later, and he couldn’t even say anything

It was the price he had to pay for proving Bash right all along. 

Bash was happy that his brother had gotten out of his head enough to listen to his heart and go after what made him happy.

How he wished Mary was there to see it too.

Bash felt the whispers of loss cling to his heart, and he knew that they would always be there but he let himself sit and think about how happy Mary would've been at seeing this.

Anne looked at him, her smile embarrassed as she seemed to come to the conclusion that she had an audience. Gilbert, on the other hand, looked like he knew the thoughts running through Bash's head, and was rightfully suspicious.

The three of them seemed to be locked in a staring competition of sorts for a few moments, each one daring the other two to break the silence.

Bash nearly stopped an exasperated sigh from escaping his lips.

"So?" he finally asked, both Anne and Gilbert still silent.

"So what?" Gilbert asked cautiously, and Bash almost snorted at how much he tried to feign innocence.

"Well, you both seem to need someone else to make sure the judging is fair, and since I don't have anything else to do, I'd like to help," Bash stated, really enjoying the way Gilbert's eyebrows raised in apprehension

Anne, however, had turned to a color a few shades lighter than her hair.

"Well, I'm well aware your judging would be amazing but it's just-" she stopped, not knowing how to express her feelings.

It was not that Anne didn't trust Bash, on the contrary, Bash was one of her dearest friends. Anne just had plans to test the limits of how much she could make Gilbert blush before he conceded, and despite their jokes, she was just a bit apprehensive of having an audience

Bash seemed to understand her nervousness from her expression as he smiled wider, putting his knitting down.

"Don't worry about it, Queen Anne," he reassured her, "I'm just here to mock that moke Blythe."

Anne smiled as Gilbert narrowed his eyes at Bash

"What happened to being a fair judge?"

Bash shrugged and Gilbert rolled his eyes, turning again to Anne.

"So you ready to do this, Carrots?" he asked, his grin teasing.

"Look, I may not have a slate as of right now, but I'm not very particular on what I use to make a point, Gilbert," Anne grinned at him

His eyebrows shot up. "Thank you for the warning at least."

Anne shook her head at him. "Since you came up with this marvelous idea, did you also come up with what criteria Bash can use for his judging?"

Gilbert shrugged. "I hadn't really thought that far, like it or not. It's basically who can make the other speechless first."

Anne looked at him closely. "You know that isn't fair right?"

Gilbert tilted his head, a small smile blooming.

"Whatever do you mean, Miss Shirley-Cuthbert?" he asked, rather innocently.

Bash couldn't help it, he snorted.

Anne and Gilbert both turned to him again, Gilbert looking slightly irritated.

"I'm sorry for interrupting the love fest but Blythe, you never told me you have moves," he said with an easy smile, watching Gilbert look down in embarrassment.

Anne was trying to hide her own smile at Gilbert's predicament, although she was itching to kiss him ever since her gaze had fallen on his lips. To be fair, it did fall there a number of times but Anne didn't think Bash would appreciate it if the both of them blatantly broke propriety while with him in the guise of chaperoning.

"Ground rules then," Anne suddenly said, making Gilbert snort at her enthusiasm.

"You're not allowed to look at me that way Gilbert," Anne stressed, looking at him for confirmation. Gilbert opened his mouth to retaliate, probably with a question feigning innocence but Anne wasn't having it.

"I mean it Gilbert. You are not allowed to look like I'm the one who hung the moon in the sky and you are in awe for it."

Gilbert smiled softly. "I don't know about hanging the moon in the sky, but being in your vicinity is like being a planet lucky enough to be in the sun's orbit and bask in its radiance."

Anne looked at him in shock, failing to form words.

She knew that the depth of Gilbert's love for her shouldn't surprise her but yet it still managed to. Every time she thought that she'd never be worthy enough for him, that he'd one day grow to resent her and himself for settling, she'd have dozens of instances like this to reassure herself with. Such were the number of times he had told her that he loved her, either in writing or in person and Anne couldn't help but thank all the forces in the universe that led her to this point of her life.

She really wanted to kiss him senseless.

He was smiling at her softly, the look in his eyes so full of love-

"Does that mean that's a point for Blythe?" Bash quipped nonchalantly.

Gilbert grinned as Anne smiled embarrassedly.

"Queen Anne, as much as it's great seeing Blythe being a lovesick moke in real-time, it would be better to see a floundering Gilbert Blythe. I'm rooting for you here."

Anne grinned conspiratorially with Bash and then proceeded to fix her gaze on the Blythe in question, who looked at her in apprehension.

"Gilbert," she stated sweetly, her chin propped on her hand again

"Yes, Anne-girl?" he asked, looking intently at her in return.

"You really do have a splendid chin, in case it escaped your attention," Anne tilted her head, studying the chin in question.

"Why thank you, Anne," Gilbert said after a few moments, taking his time to fight the small stubborn smile he had—although Anne had a sneaking suspicion that it was more due to the fact that it was her, and her expression rather than the compliment itself.

She looked at Bash who gave her a thumbs up, Gilbert rolling his eyes good-heartedly at the both of them.

"Anne, have I ever told you that your hair is wonderful and so ethereally you?" Gilbert asked, his eyes sincere even if his smile was in teasing territory.

Anne was secretly proud of herself for not immediately assuming that he was mocking her. Yes, it was Gilbert and she was sure he'd never mock her but her hair was something she'd taken a long time to accept and sometimes the old feelings resurfaced.

He also knew how much trouble she had when it came to seeing her hair as anything less than ugly, so she appreciated his effort.

"Whatever do you mean, Gilbert?" Anne asked softly her eyes on him

"It's just," he started, stopping to compose his thoughts and twirling the end of her braid, "your hair is one of the first things I noticed about you and the more I got to know you the more perfect it seemed to be for you."

"I know you considered it ugly and the bane of your existence," Gilbert continued, watching her expression, “but it’s really not, Anne. It symbolizes your fiery spirit and your free nature and I do admit that I found you cute since the first day, and there’s a chance your hair played a part in that.”

Anne was tired of being speechless around Gilbert, it had happened one too many times already.

“Not that my opinion of it should be the sole determining of your self worth,” he added hastily, “but just that your hair is beautiful, as are you.”

"I-I don't know what to say," Anne finally admitted, trying to calm her thoughts. 

"You have no idea how much I want to kiss you right now," she said, lowering her voice so that Bash wouldn't hear it.

Gilbert blinked at her for a few moments, trying very hard to keep his gaze on her eyes. 

They had both decided that they wouldn't completely flout all the exhaustive rules which came along with courting, not yet anyway. 

"Point for me!" Anne declared, grinning cheekily at Gilbert

"If you say so," Bash narrowed his eyes at her before saying. "I'm assuming that I don't want to hear whatever you said."

Anne blushed. “If you really want to know, I suppose I can tell you. Although I do think you’ll end up regretting it, as you _are_ supposed to be our chaperone.”

Bash sighed, looking at his knitting for a moment.

“Look, you two are smart, and usually have your heads firmly on your shoulders,” he finally said, his words hesitant.

“At least when Anne’s head isn’t rising to meet the clouds, and Gilbert isn’t being too much of a moke,” he teased, keeping it light.

“I also know that you two have probably talked about what you want and when you want it, or at least I hope that you did,” Bash continued, shooting a glance at Gilbert.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Gilbert mumbled, but it was half hearted.

“We’ve written to each other about it, and we were planning on continuing the conversation once we saw each other again,” he added, a little defensive.

Bash nodded. “Good.”

“Don’t be stupid and keep it all in your heart. It never leads to any good. If you want to have a meaningful relationship that goes on to a meaningful marriage-”

Both of them turned red at his words.

“You both need to communicate. Since the beginning of your courtship can be classified as a disaster, I’m hoping that you two will make sure that you are on the same page from now,” Bash said, feeling a bit awkward about advising them.

He couldn’t deny that it had to be done though.

He had seen scatters of what had happened between those two the last time they had refused to talk things out, and he did not want a repeat of that.

Seeing both their downtrodden faces made him worry and exasperated at them the same time.

Neither Anne nor Gilbert said anything to refute his words, both probably musing over their mistakes; as there had been plenty of them.

“Didn’t mean to put a damper to the atmosphere,” Bash said wryly, realizing that it was on him to slash through the tension that was simmering.

“You don’t need to do much for that; your presence is more than enough,” Gilbert replied with a small smile, raising an eyebrow.

Anne smacked him on the arm. “Be nicer to him!”

“Ask him first!” Gilbert mumbled, pretending to be hurt.

“Blythe, she might be courting you but everyone prefers me to you,” Bash teased him again, light hearted.

“That doesn’t even make any sense,” Gilbert grumbled at the two of them as Anne burst out laughing, sharing a smile with Bash as she did.

“You don’t make any sense half the time, you moke.”

“What have I done to be deserving of this?” Gilbert muttered to himself, rolling his eyes at the ceiling.

“You’ve been too much of a idiot. Now quit that before your eyes get stuck up that head of yours,” Bash quipped without missing a beat.

Gilbert stared at him for a moment before shaking his head and laughing at him.

Bash was glad Gilbert hadn’t lost his good humor when it came to Bash taking shots at him. Ever since Gilbert had left for Toronto, it had felt queer having to get used to living in the house without him.

Although Bash would never admit it to his face, he was concerned over whether Gilbert would change drastically after having to live in a new place with new people.

He knew that he’d be able to set him straight if he had; that still skinny white boy really didn’t have a lot on him but it would’ve been painful if the boy who had left with a promise came back with anything but.

“So I’m going to go ahead and declare myself as the winner here,” Anne grinned when the laughter had subsided for a while and they were sitting in a companionable silence.

“What’s the point of the judge-” Gilbert asked, gesturing at Bash, “if you’re just going to declare yourself as the winner anyway?”

“I know that he will be on my side with this,” Anne responded with a lot of conviction in her tone and then turned her earnest gaze towards him.

Bash shrugged. “As it stands right now, you’ve lost Blythe.”

Anne squealed in victory and then both of them swivelled their heads to gaze at Gilbert who was starting to play with the hair at the nape of his neck.

He looked up to meet both of their expectant gazes, and then exhaled. “Fine.”

Anne narrowed her eyes at him, despite her egging him on to concede. 

“Where did your competitiveness go Gilbert Blythe?” Anne asked, suspicion radiating off her.

Gilbert looked at her head on, a teasing smile forming on his face.

“I suppose I never mentioned that part,” he trailed off deliberately, and Anne crossed her arms when she heard his words.

“What part?” she asked, frowning.

“While it was stimulating to have an academic rival when before I’d be at the top with almost no effort,” Gilbert mused slowly, “I can’t help but confess that at the beginning I kept up our rivalry since it gave me opportunities to talk with you.”

“You _what?_ ” Anne exclaimed but it was more out of surprise than anything.

“Sorry,” she whispered, turning beet red as she realized that Delphine was supposed to be sleeping.

“Well, yes,” Gilbert admitted. “I also maybe lost the spelling bee as you didn’t look at the top of your game that day.”

Anne opened her mouth, not exactly sure of what she was going to say in response to that but Gilbert cut her off hastily.

“This is no way to imply that you wouldn’t have won either way but it really seemed like you weren’t feeling well and it didn’t seem fair to make you keep going at something we both know you had more of a chance to win,” Gilbert added sincerely, almost worried about Anne’s reaction.

While Anne had been trying to get her tempestuous tendencies a bit more under wraps, nothing brought it out as much as being deemed incapable and weak.

Anne must’ve noticed his expression because hers softened in thoughtfulness.

“When you said that you wanted to beat me in class fair and square, you really meant it didn’t you?” she finally asked, no trace of anger in her tone.

Gilbert grinned, his expression a little bashful. “It only counts if both of us are on the same page.”

Anne grinned back in response, filled with so many emotions for the person in front of her that she felt like she would burst from it all.

Both of them stared at the other, neither daring nor wanting to break the gaze.

It was Bash who finally broke the spell that had fallen on the room.

“Well, I’m going to check on my daughter as I’m sick of watching you two mooning at each other,” Bash muttered, the small grin he was sporting betraying his true feelings over it.

He was a little sick of it though, he couldn’t deny that part.

Both Anne and Gilbert looked down at the table and away from his teasing gaze, their cheeks sporting twin shades of red.

Bash rolled his eyes at the two and left the room, trying not to think about what he knew they wanted to do as soon as they got some time alone.

He was supposed to be their chaperone and in order to keep his supposed conscience clear, he really didn’t need that.

-

Anne slowly snuck a glance at Gilbert as soon as Bash left the room, still embarrassed over his words.

Although she was starting to be aware that both of them tended to look at the other in a manner that wasn’t exactly proper, being told about it was another feeling altogether.

Gilbert met her gaze halfway, a corner of his lips tilting up in a small smile as he noticed how she looked as embarrassed as he felt.

That was it for Anne. 

She had been wanting to kiss him for so long and now that Bash wasn’t in the room, she knew she had her chance.

So she moved forward, ignoring the fact that there was an entire table between them.

Gilbert had seen the look in her eyes and his own had darkened in response, moving forward himself so that they could kiss.

It was a little sloppy, as there was (again) an entire table between them, Anne placing her weight on her elbows to lean over it and the fact that Gilbert was taller than her.

Anne would’ve felt more embarrassed but she had missed him so much that she couldn’t see past her giddiness over how happy she was to have him with her.

So instead of shying away and resorting back to her stammering, nervous self Anne laughed against his lips, feeling Gilbert grin widely against her in response.

He pulled back after a few seconds, raising an eyebrow he looked at Anne who was in a very precarious position.

“That can’t be too comfortable,” he chuckled, tugging at her hands slowly in a request to have her come closer.

Anne waved it away, nonchalant.

“My mind was on other things,” she replied and both of them froze for a second, smiling at each other afterwards at their own private joke.

Gilbert tugged at her hands again and Anne grinned at how much he seemed like a petulant child; however she did sit next to him like he wanted.

“So,” Gilbert whispered, his eyes on hers.

“So,” Anne breathed out, and his gaze fell to her lips.

“What do you want to do now, Miss Shirley Cuthbert?” Gilbert asked, his voice low.

Anne smiled back playfully in response. “I think our previous activity would be sufficient enough,” she replied, her voice breathy again.

Gilbert grinned at her words, Anne trying to fight back a smile herself.

While she felt so full it hurt sometimes, she never wanted to not feel this happy when she was with him.

Gilbert’s expression changed then and he brought up his hand to rest it on Anne’s cheek.

In that moment Anne was transported to that day, which had been momentous for her. It wasn’t just that she and Gilbert had started to express their feelings for each other, it was also the day her darling Diana had come to the boardinghouse and Matthew and Marilla brought her that blessed book that used to be her parents.

Anne always thought of that day with so much fondness, even if she had faced some flak for throwing propriety out of the window when she had run through the streets of Charlottetown like a madwoman (Rachel Lynde’s description of the incident) but all of it was worth it.

She had someone now to share the awkwardness of long winded speeches with.

Her eyes flitted shut as Gilbert leaned in, her attention firmly in the present now.

She wasn’t sure how long they spent in that position (she tended to lose track of time whenever she spent time with him) but a small sound was what made them spring apart hurriedly.

There was also the fact that Anne was starting to feel the need to take a breath of air but that was more ignorable compared to someone walking in on them.

Anne took her hand from Gilbert’s chin and tried in vain to fix her hair (she hadn’t realized it ended there in the first place but she wasn’t complaining) and Gilbert grinned goofily at her, his curls only a little more wild than usual.

“What are you smiling at?” Anne asked, curious.

“You’re stunning,” Gilbert replied softly and Anne had fold her arms to stop herself from kissing him again.

That was the moment Bash decided to enter the room again, coughing loudly to signal his presence in case he ended up walking into something that couldn’t be explained away.

Even though they were sitting, Anne and Gilbert panicked, Anne taking a random book from her side of the table as Gilbert looked at his own text and mumbled something.

“Yes, that makes perfect sense. Thank you Gilbert,” Anne answered breezily, turning back to her own text with ostensible concentration.

Bash rolled his eyes at the both of them.  
Gilbert looked up at Bash when he was sure his expression wouldn’t betray him. 

“Bash,” he acknowledged his brother, who was standing with a knowing grin.

“What are you up to there Blythe?” Bash asked, keeping his tone neutral.

“We were just-” Gilbert looked at Bash, his gaze flitting towards Anne who bit her lip.

“I had a question for Gilbert,” Anne said simply, keeping her gaze on her book.

“Yes, of course,” Bash grinned, trying his hardest not to laugh at the two visibly disheveled teens.

He trusted them to know their boundaries and so he didn’t think it was his place to lecture them about propriety (that would always be Rachel Lynde’s role) and well, Bash couldn’t deny the fact that a few stolen kisses never really hurt anybody.

“Next time, try to make sure that your book is on the right side up.” Bash left the room again so that he could let out a few laughs, and also so that they could be openly mortified in peace.

Young love, he mused to himself with a grin and then made his way towards Delphine’s room again when he thought he heard a cry.

-

It wasn’t long after that when Marilla came to the house to call Anne for something, some food in tow.

Bash wanted to protest at the food, the Lord knew that Hazel stuffed all of them like they were those plum puffs Marilla made, but he also couldn’t resist not embarrassing the couple he was chaperoning.

He was aiming for embarrassing Gilbert but Anne always seemed to end up matching Gilbert’s facial expressions whenever he teased his brother.

“It seems rather quiet in here,” Marilla remarked as she surveyed the room, Anne and Gilbert in their respective seats studying as Bash held Delphine who was still not fully awake yet.

“It was, for the most part,” Bash remarked lightly, keeping his voice low as he glanced at his daughter.

“Where are Hazel and Elijah?” Marilla murmured, almost not hearing his words.

Bash shrugged. “They claimed that they had somethin’ to fix somewhere and that I was to stay here and keep an eye on these two.”

He gestured at them with his gaze, noticing how Anne made a small sound at the back of her throat which she immediately pretended was a cough, Gilbert tapping her fingers lightly as he looked over at her, his expression of embarrassment matching hers.

Marilla glanced at them, a small smile forming on her face as she did. “Oh, I see.”

“Hmm,” Bash hummed, trying to quash a smile when he remembered his flustered mother rushing out of the house, a confused Elijah in tow in her attempt to not get stuck with chaperoning two kids.

Both of them kept finding farm work that hadn’t existed till then whenever the topic of Anne coming over was brought up. 

Coincidentally, none of these works ever required Bash and his assistance, even though he was the one out of the three who knew the most about what there was to do on a farm.

“Did you two get any studying done?” Marilla asked, her tone a bit sly.

Anne’s gaze whipped to meet her adoptive mother’s, her expression wary.

“A bit,” Anne responded, vaguely.

“Good, good,” Marilla responded, sharing a smile with Bash.

“It seems that Blythe’s competitiveness isn’t restricted to studying.” Bash couldn’t help but make one last dig at Gilbert, who snapped his gaze towards Bash as soon as he heard his name.

Bash smirked at him before continuing, ignoring both their twin expressions of betrayal.

“Let’s just say it was fun seeing them try to trip up the other in being romantic.”

Marilla let out a bark of laughter at that, Anne and Gilbert’s tensed expressions fading as they were replaced with bashfulness.

“I’m not surprised that Anne’s competitive spirit has made an appearance here,” Marilla admitted, smiling to herself. “Although, I can’t help but also remember how excited she was when Gilbert’s letter came and how adamant she was that it was not romantic in any way whatsoever,” Marilla added suddenly, her eyes twinkling with mirth.

“Marilla!” Anne gasped betrayed as Gilbert looked at her, his expression teasing. Bash let out a laugh at the redhead’s expression.

“For the record, it wasn’t romantic,” Anne mumbled, trying to fight off a small smile.

“If you say so,” Marilla said lightly, looking at both Anne and Gilbert who looked at her agape.

“Thank you Anne for clearing the air between you and Blythe. If it had been just up to him, he might’ve never revealed his feelings, and I would’ve missed out on seeing him a lovesick moke.”

Anne giggled and Gilbert groaned when his words registered, the roles reversed.

Bash smiled to himself at the knowledge that there would be many more moments like this to come in the following years.

While all of them were ecstatic for their happiness, it wouldn’t be fair if they didn’t tease them about it once in a while.

That was what family was for, wasn’t it?

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading!
> 
> in case you felt like there was a point during this entire thing when i decided to pull the plug on holding back the fluff, yes there definitely was.
> 
> this one's dedicated to nicole, one of the sweetest people ever. 
> 
> (i know this is out of the blue, and that you've read like half of it but i've been wanting to dedicate something i wrote to you for so long and this kinda fell into my lap lol. ilysm <3)
> 
> anyway, i hope you all liked it, and i'd really appreciate your thoughts on it.
> 
> until the next one then i guess :)


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